The recently released court documents reveal the actual donation amount that billionaire Elon Musk provided to OpenAI in its early stages, which differs significantly from the public statements made by Musk and OpenAI.

OpenAI

According to court documents submitted by Musk's lawyer on November 7, Musk's total donations to OpenAI were approximately $38 million. The document details the composition of this amount:

  • Quarterly Grants: There were five quarterly grants in 2016 and 2017, each amounting to $5 million.

  • Rent Expenses: A total of $12.7 million was paid for OpenAI's rent between 2016 and 2020.

  • Physical Donations: It also included four brand new Tesla cars given to "key employees".

This disclosure directly challenges the previous statements from both sides regarding the donation amount. Musk had previously publicly stated that he donated $100 million to the AI research institution he co-founded. Meanwhile, OpenAI claimed that Musk's total donations were less than $45 million.

The court documents revealed a figure of $38 million, which is not only lower than Musk's claimed $100 million but also slightly less than OpenAI's previous estimate of "less than $45 million," adding new focus to the long-standing legal and financial dispute between Musk and OpenAI.